45: Crisis is imminent

Carrying the newly obtained golden silk soft armor and qi burst pill Pill Formula, Qin Feng was preparing to continue browsing the Ghost Market to see if he could find any useful bits and pieces with his last few gold coins. However, a cold voice rang out not far away, catching his attention.

It was a stall where the vendor wore a half-wolf mask. The vendor had a sinister aura, and only a few scrolls of animal hide were laid out before him. A man dressed in black martial attire with a hideous scar across his face stood before the stall, his voice carrying suppressed anger:

"Hmph! I want information on 'Ghost'!"

Qin Feng's heart jolted. He involuntarily slowed his pace and listened intently. Was it Shadow Scorpion? Or someone else interested in 'Ghost'?

The wolf-masked vendor lifted his eyelids and lazily held up five fingers: "Five hundred gold coins."

The scarred man clearly felt the price was too high and was about to argue. Suddenly, he snorted coldly, as if he had made a decision. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed a strangely styled black token engraved with a blood-dripping dagger onto the stall. The token emitted an uncomfortable, cold Killing Intent.

"Now, do you still want five hundred gold coins?" The scarred man's voice carried a hint of a threat.

When the wolf-masked vendor saw the token, his pupils shrank imperceptibly. His lazy attitude vanished instantly, and his voice lowered several notches: "The Soul-Chasing Token of the Blood-Filled Tower... My apologies. In that case, the information... is provided free of charge."

He clearly did not want to provoke this assassin organization.

"Free?" The scarred man didn't seem satisfied with this outcome; instead, he felt the other party was looking down on him. He took out a jade bottle and uncorked it. A strange scent wafted out, causing one's mind to momentarily daze. "This Breath-Concealing Pill is enough for you to hide your Qi from a Martial Master expert for fifteen minutes. Is that enough?"

A flash of greed crossed the wolf-masked vendor's eyes. He quickly took the jade bottle and sniffed it. After confirming it was genuine, a smile broke out on his face: "Enough! Definitely enough!" He hurriedly pulled a scroll from the animal hides and respectfully handed it to the scarred man.

The scarred man—almost certainly Shadow Scorpion—took the hide scroll, didn't even look at it, snorted coldly, turned around, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Qin Feng stood where he was, his expression under the mask as dark as water. He didn't know if the information Shadow Scorpion obtained was true or false, or what the specific contents were, but the other party had clearly not given up and had even used unconventional means. This made him feel immense pressure.

"I must improve my strength as quickly as possible and resolve this trouble!" The sense of crisis in his heart increased greatly.

At this time, the zi hour had passed, and the new System information refreshed, momentarily dispelling the gloom in his heart and providing new possibilities.

[ (Yellow) East District, Seventh Stall: There is a seemingly ordinary Ebony Pipe. It is actually a 'Ghost Artifact' refined from the leg bone of a girl who died a wrongful death. It can briefly command low-level vengeful spirits, but using it requires paying the price of essence blood or Lifespan, and it is prone to backlash. ]

"Don't touch it, don't touch it!" Qin Feng's scalp tingled as he read this. He didn't dare to even brush against such a wicked thing.

[ (Green) West District Corner, an old woman's stall: There is a small amount of 'Nether Flower' for sale. This flower, when combined with several other knockout drug Materials, can be refined into a Potent Soul-Confusing Powder that even a Grand Martial Master would succumb to if inhaled accidentally. ]

A potent knockout drug? Qin Feng's heart stirred. This might be a good thing for dealing with Shadow Scorpion or for saving his life at a critical moment.

[ (Yellow) Information obtained by Shadow Scorpion shows that 'Ghost's' actions often overlap with the targets of the Fierce Tiger Gang's oppression. A list of over thirty suspected victims related to 'Ghost' has been compiled. He speculates that 'Ghost' or someone close to him might be hidden among these victim families. ]

"Damn it!" Qin Feng cursed inwardly. The people in this Ghost Market were indeed no pushovers; they had actually found so many clues through the Fierce Tiger Gang line! It was very likely leaked by the high-level members of the Fierce Tiger Gang. Although there were over thirty families on the list and they wouldn't find the Qin family immediately, this undoubtedly narrowed the range significantly and increased the risk of exposure! "I must deal with him as soon as possible!" This thought became increasingly intense.

He no longer hesitated and went straight to the corner of the West District, finding the old woman's stall selling Nether Flowers. He spent a hundred gold coins to buy the dark purple, strangely fragrant flowers along with several auxiliary knockout drug Materials from the stall.

Leaving the Ghost Market and returning to his room in the medical clinic, Qin Feng's mood remained heavy. He first put on the golden silk soft armor against his skin; the cool sensation brought a trace of peace of mind.

Next, he couldn't wait to start trying to refine the newly obtained qi burst pill. Perhaps because he had experience refining qi condensing pills, or perhaps because the qi burst pill's own grade (yellow rank high grade) was similar to the qi condensing pill but slightly easier to refine, with the help of the Sword Heart and the azure flame furnace, he actually felt it was much smoother.

After using three sets of Materials, although he experienced two failures, on the third attempt, he successfully condensed a pill the size of a longan, crimson in color, with faint ripples of violent energy—the qi burst pill was complete! The success rate was much higher than that of the qi condensing pill!

"Finally, some good news." Qin Feng carefully put away this Medicinal Pill that could turn the tide at a critical moment.

Subsequently, he swallowed the last remaining qi condensing pill on him, sat cross-legged, and fully circulated the Primordial Unity Qi Art. The pure medicinal power dissolved in his body and was greedily absorbed by the Earth Rank Cultivation Technique, transforming into majestic Primordial Unity Internal Breath that constantly hammered at that invisible barrier.

After an unknown amount of time, Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes, feeling the powerful strength in his body that had grown and solidified once more, as well as the Realm barrier that was now as thin as a cicada's wing.

He was truly only one step away from Late Martial Master!

However, Shadow Scorpion was like a sword hanging over his head, the crisis imminent. He had to find the opportunity for a Breakthrough in this final moment, or... a chance to lethally strike his opponent.